Kirill Kaprozov lit the lamp for his 41st goal of the season to give the Minnesota Wild a two-goal lead Friday night, but the St. Louis Blues forced overtime and wound up beating the Wild 4-3 for a key victory in the Western Conference playoff race.
Rob Thomas scored the game-winning goal just shy of 90 seconds into overtime.
Minnesota took five of eight possible points on their road trip, but the fact remains they and the Blues and now tied with 92 points, though the Wild have one game in hand on St. Louis.
Kevin Fiala put the Wild up 1-0 in the first period, and goals by Kaprizov midway through the second and Jacob Middleton early in the third period put the Wild up 3-1 before the Blues got goals from Justin Faulk and Brayden Schenn to tie the game and force the extra 3-on-3 session.
Kaprizov is one goal shy of the single season franchise record held by Marian Gaborik and Eric Staal.
Colorado (108 points) is running away with the Central Division, and because the second- and third-place teams in the division meet each other in the first round of the playoffs, Friday night’s game could’ve been a playoff preview.
Minnesota and St. Louis are tied for second and third in the division with 92 points, though Minnesota has played one fewer game. Nashville is fourth with 86 points and Dallas is eight back with 84 points.
Saint Louis is 3-0 against the Wild this season, with two of the victories coming in overtime.
Minnesota is back on the ice in St. Paul Sunday at 4 p.m. against the L.A. Kings.
